February 24, 2007 |
Meeting of the Brown Corporation
Corporation Approves 6.4% Budget Increase, Sets Tuition and Fees
The Corporation of Brown University has approved a fiscal year 2008 consolidated budget of $704.8 million, an 6.4-percent increase over FY07. Total undergraduate fees will rise 5.0 percent to $45,948, including a 5-percent rise in tuition to $35,584. The undergraduate financial aid budget will increase 10 percent over the University’s projected actual financial aid expenditures in the current year. | |||
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Corporation Summary Brown University Home |
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — At its regular winter meeting today (Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007), the Corporation of Brown University approved a consolidated budget of $704.8 million for fiscal year 2008. That amount – a 6.4-percent increase over FY07 – will sustain momentum for the University’s Plan for Academic Enrichment and support additional initiatives, including the University’s growing range of international relationships. “The budget measures approved by the Corporation will sustain Brown University as it continues on a path of growth and enrichment for the long term,” said Brown Chancellor Stephen Robert. “The tempo of change is increasing, with benefits that reach broadly across the entire University community.” The FY08 budget will fund continuing expansion of the Brown faculty, adding between 15 and 25 positions for the 2007-08 academic year. It will provide a 10 percent increase in undergraduate financial aid resources over what the University will have spent at the end of the current fiscal year to support need-blind undergraduate admission and to accommodate increased aid for international undergraduates. The budget also assumes an increase in graduate student stipends to $18,500 (up 46 percent since 2000-01). A two-year capital budget totaling $190 million through fiscal year 2009, was also discussed. The capital budget will allow the University to begin – and, in some cases complete – dozens of campus projects, including:
The budget recommendations for FY08 were developed by the University Resources Committee (URC), a 17-member planning body of faculty, students, staff and senior officers that meets year-round. The URC meets with each senior officer to review the budget challenges of various offices, departments and divisions and to understand the opportunities facing the University. The URC also holds periodic open meetings for the entire Brown community. It is chaired by Provost David I. Kertzer. “As the Corporation requested last May, we now envision a bolder plan that will allow us to include critical areas, including international initiatives and the expansion of undergraduate housing,” said Brown President Ruth J. Simmons, who receives the URC report and presents budget recommendations to the Corporation. “The proposed budget for the 2008 fiscal year, together with new capital planning efforts, will support these initiatives.” The University’s consolidated budget includes three separate budgets: University Education and General ($508.8 million, up 7.0 percent over FY07), Biology and Medicine ($120.0 million, up 4.4 percent), and Auxiliary Enterprises ($76.0 million, up 6.4 percent). Revenue Tuition and student fees are the largest source of revenue for the University. The Corporation has approved a 5.0-percent increase in total undergraduate charges to $45,948 per year. That includes a 5-percent increase in tuition, to $35,584. Tuition for graduate students will also rise 5 percent to $35,584. Undergraduate fees for a residence hall room will rise 4.7 percent to $5,958. The standard 20-meal contract with University Dining Services will rise 5.9 percent to $3,648. The health services fee will increase 4.4 percent to $612. Neither the Undergraduate Council of Students nor the Graduate Student Council requested an increase in their corresponding student activity fee; those will continue unchanged from the current year. The Corporation also approved an increase of 10 percent in payout from the University’s endowment. With anticipated new gifts to endowment, this will provide a projected $85.4 million of endowment income to the budget, an increase of $9.8 million. University policy specifies that the draw on the endowment should be in the range of 4.5 to 5.5 percent of the endowment’s average market value during the last three years. For FY08, the endowment draw will be about 5.39 percent. In addition to student fees and the endowment draw, which are the two prominent revenue sources under the Corporation’s direct control, the University also projects revenue from a variety of other sources, including:
Planned Expenditures The budget approved today will continue to provide solid support for the priorities of the Plan for Academic Enrichment, including:
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